Piston cleaning apparatus



Feb. 5, 1946. c. A. STlNE PISTON CLEANING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-s 1 Filed001;. 12 1943 J27 v Tar, Cant/ E Feb. 5, 1946. c. A. STlNF Q 2,394,338

' PISTON CLEANING'APPARATUS Filed Oct. 12, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 7215.77 to?" E5112! -7.5 tin E Feb. 5, 1946. I c. A. STINE 2,394,338

PI STON CLEANING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 12, 1943 4 Shets-Sheet 3 .lnvETTA-01" Eczr'j Q. 5 time Patented Feb. 5, 1946 PISTON CLEANINGAPPARATUS Carl A. Stine, Van Nuys, Califi, assignor to Turco-P'roducts', Inez, Los Angelcs; C'alifi, a corporation of California.

Application OctoberlZ, 1943,, Serial'Na. 505,961

11 Claims.

My invention has to do with. piston cleaning ap-- paratus- As. is:wellknown, the. pistons of. internal combustionengines-become coatedwith carbonaceous deposits: which, unless removed, seriously impairefiicient operation of they engine. Heretofore such deposits have. beenremoved by scraping or by immersing the piston in a. solvent solution.-Ineither case, however, the operation has required a considerabletimeel'ement during which the vehicle. or the like driven. by theengine. must remai-nidle.v

As disclosed in my copending applicationSerial No. 414,312,. filedFebruary 1, 1943 (Pat. No. 2376;945', issued May 29, 1945), I have beenable to considerably, speedup and increase the efiiciency ofcarbon-removing. operations by applying rotary. brushes to the pistonswhilethey are immersed. in a solvent solution. In my, said. copending.application I employ rotary brushes disposed in a tank containing thesolvent solution. My present apparatus embodies improvements over thatdescribed inmy copending application and it is among its objects toprovide insucha cleaningeapparatus improvedmeans for removing. andapplying thepistons, and .for inspecting them during. the cleaningoperation, without the necessity of the operator placinghis hands in thesolvent solution andv without the necessity of stopping the drivingmotor.

Another object of the present invention isto provide improved means ofadjusting the brushing pressure on the pistons, for detachably holdmgthe pistons in positio for cleaning and'for rotating the pistons andbrushes.

Another object is to provide an improved brush arrangement- 7 Myinvention has still further advantages and objects and how those as wellas the hereinabove enumerated objects are achieved willbe best unederstood from the followingdetailed explanation of, one form ofapparatus in which the invention may be carried out. Eorthepurposes oithe I01? lowing descriptionI shallrefer to. the accompanylng drawings,inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinalsectionetaken. online l'--| of Eig. 3';

Fig.2 is a. section. on. 1ine 2'2.,o'E'ig. Lbut showing the cover lid inopen position;

Fig. 3 is a section on line .3--3 of Fig. 2,.butwith thepistonsremoved;,

Fig. 4.is,a section on line 44 of Fig. 2';

Fig. 5'is anend elevation;

Fig, 6 i'sa iragmentarysection V F g-His. arfragmentary sectionshowingone-of thepiston-holding blocks; and

Fig... 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view ot-a modified form .ofapparatus.

In, the drawings, I show a rectangular tank 5 which may or-may not havesupporting legs, not shown, and having a cover lid 8 hinged at 6 (Fig.2) toaflange 5a disposed longitudinally along the top'edge of the tank.

While my apparatus may be adapted to clean any desired number of pistonsat once, I show an adaptation for cleaning six pistons P, disposed intwo parallelrows of three pistons each.

Securedv to the floor of the tank there are six tables In, the tablesbeing arranged in two parallel row of three tables each. Two pairs ofslide bars l2 extend transversely through and are'sli'dable with respectto the tables; the tables providing tubular slideways [0a to pass thebars. Bearingmembers l6 are secured, as by welding, between each pair ofslide bars I2. A brush-operating shaft l! is journalledin each bearingIt, a. sprocket wheel l8 being secured on the bottom end and a radialbrush l9 being secured on the top end ofeach shaft IT. The inner or freeends of the bars l2 areslidably disposed in openings in posts 20, whichposts are secured to the floor of the tank.

To operate the respective pairs of slide bars [2 I provide a pair oflevers 22, each of thelevers being pivotally secured at its lower end toone pair of the bars l2 and being fulcrumed by means of a bracket 23-secured to the end wall of the tank. A ratchet mechanism (Fig. 6)consisting of a rack 25 andpawl 26 is provided to releasably retain eachlever in any adjusted position. The rack 25 is secured to a top plate 24carried by the tank, the plate presenting a pair of slots 24a to passthe respective levers 22'.

Atop each table l0 I'resiliently mount a stationary brush 1 l by meansof an upwardly bowed leaf spring 21. A bearing member 30 is secured tothe tank floor-adjacent one end of the tank in a plane between the rowsof tables Ill, which bearing rot'atablycarries a sprocket 3|, and acontinuous chain belt 34 is disposed in engagement with the sprockets l8and 3| in a manner to drive adjacent sprockets" I 8 of each row' inopposite directions.

A driven shaft 35 is secured in sprocket 3i and" in a bevel" gear 36,the shaft being journalledin a bracket 37 secured to the end wall of thetank. A drive shaft 40', which may be operatively connected to anelectric motor or other source of power; not shown, 'extends through theend wall ofv the tank and has secured thereon a beveled gear 41 whichmeshes collar 42 which has upwardly opening recesses 42a providing onemember of a clutch, as will be described. 7

A plurality of bearing members 50, six in number, are disposed in twoparallel rows of three each, are secured to the cover lid 8 and eachjournals a shaft 52 whose lower end resiliently fits in the socket 53aof a yoke 53. The yoke is longitudinally slotted at 531) to permitsliding movement of a cross pin 520. carried by shaft 52, and a coilspring is interposed between the lower end of the shaft and the bottomof the socket. The yoke engages over a pistonretaining block 54 to whichit is secured as by a cross pin 55. A sprocket wheel 55 is secured oneach shaft 52, each shaft 52 being positioned to overhang one of thetables II) when the table is down (Fig. 1). Each piston-retaining block54 is provided with a transverse opening Eda to receive a retaining pin51, which pin passes through the opening in the block and the wrist pinholes conventionally provided in the piston, so as to hold the pistonagainst longitudinal escape from the block. Each pin 51 may be securedagainst longitudinal movement in its opening 54a by a diagonal pin 500.(Fig. 7). Each pin 50a is yieldably urged inwardly by a spring 58, theinner end of the pin engaging in an annular groove 59 in a pin 5'I.

. Also secured to the cover lid so as to be coaxial with collar 42 whenthe lid is down (Fig. 1) there is a bearing 60 journalling a shaft 5|, asprocket 62 being secured on the shaft. The lower end of the shaft 6|carries a collar 83 which presents teeth 63a engaging inthe recesses4241 thus providing the other element of the clutch hereinabovementioned. A continuous chain belt 65 engages with the teeth ofsprockets 62 and 58, being so disposed around the latter sprockets as torotate adjacent sprockets of each row in opposite directions. Collars IDare secured on the projecting top ends of the respective shafts 52', BI,to prevent inward longitudinal movement of the shafts.

A trough member is provided around the top edge of the tank and adepending flange i5 is provided on the cover lid. This trough isnormallykept filled with liquid to provide a seal between the cover lid and tankto prevent escape of vapors. Inpractice the tank is filled with a carbonsolvent, many of which solvents are well known in the art, toapproximately the liquid level L (Fig. 1).

' For raising and lowering the cover lid 8 I provide means which willnow be described.- A pair of posts 80 are supported on brackets 8|carried by the tank, and atop each post a sheave 82 is rotatably carriedby a bracket 84. A shaft 85 is journalled in the posts 80 and a pair ofdrums 81 are secured on the shafts. A pair of cables 88 are windable atone end about the drums and are secured at their other ends to the coverlid so that rotation of shaft 85 and drums 81 wind with gear 36. The topend of shaft 35 carries a an end wall, a bevel gear I02 meshing withgear 4| and one element Iil3a of a clutch. Another coaxial shaft I05carrying a clutch element I55a is longitudinally slidably and rotatablysupported by an end wall bracket I01 and extends through a side wall ofthe tank, carrying on its outer end a bevel gear I58 adapted to meshwith a bevel gear I08a (Fig. 2) on the shaft 85. A lever IIIl' ispivoted at its lower end on a bracket 8i and has a link III so connectedto shaft I55 as to slide the shaft longitudinally but allow rotation ofthe shaft. A spring II5 urges the lever outwardly to disengage theclutch elements H131: and "35a.

Each brush I9 has a relatively large diameter base portion I9a and arelatively smaller diameter top portion [9b which portions intersecteach other in a curved portion I90. Thus the beveled ends of the pistonsare reached by brush portion I9a while portion I9b engages the sides andring grooves of the piston.

For guiding and taking up slack in the belt 34 I provide an idlersprocket I25 'rotatably mounted on an arm I 2| pivotally connected atits other end to a support secured to the tank floor. A transverse slotI22 is provided in the arm through which an adjusting screw I23 extends.Another idler sprocket I25 is rotatably carried by an arm I26 whoseother end is adjustably pivotally secured by means of an adjusting screwI21 to a slotted bar I28 carried by support I29 secured to the floor.

In operation the tank is filled to the liquid level L with a carbonsolvent and the pistons P are placed on the perspective retaining blocks54 while the l d is in the raised position of Fig. 2. The lid is thenlowered which causes the pistons P to be radially engaged by the brushesI9 4 and to have their lower end resiliently engaged by the stationarybrushes II. Also, when the lid is lower, the toothed lower end of theshaft 6| is engaged with the recessed top end of collar 42, so thatrotation of shaft 40 causes simultaneous rotation of belts 34, 65 whensaid clutch is engaged. The levers 22 may be manually'operated to sl dethe brushes I9 towards or away from the pistons to compensate forpistons of varying diameters and to increase or decrease the brushingpressure when desired. During the operation the brushes, belts andsprocket wheels also function to agitate the solvent solution and thebrushes rapidly remove any loosened deposit to enable the solventcontinuously to have access to a fresh surface. I find that by myapparatus pistons may be cleaned in a few minutes which heretofore'haverequired several hours to clean by known apparatus. When it is desiredto inspect the pistons or t remove them, the cover lid is raised, whichdisengages shaft BI from the driving mechanism so that the pistons ceaseto rotate and may be handled and inspected without the operator havingto place his hands in the solvent as well as without having to stop thedriving motor. v

In Fig. 8 I show an adaptation of my invention for the cleaning ofengine cylinders and the like. Here the numeral 5b denotes a bottom wallof a tank such as tank 5 hereinabove described. and 8a designates thehinged top wall. A hearing I35 is secured to the bottom wall, withinwhich bearing the lower end of a shaft I36 is journalled. An adapter I3!is secured on the top end of shaft I 35, this adapter presenting anupwardly opening socket I38'of squared cross section. toreceive thesquared lower end of the brush shaft I39, which aea igsss carries-atitsupper'end a brush'hlll; A -sprocket wheel I41 5 is secured onthe shaftI36; which sprocket is driven by a chain'belt 34a from 'a'drivemechanism such as hereinabove described; A base member M5 rotatably'fitsshaft BBQ-the base member-havingaspherical topsurface use toaccommodatecylinders C of varying diameters.

A bearingmember I50 is secured to the'top' wall to journal a shaft I51carrying a sprocketwheel l52'driven by a-chain belt GSa'frQm-a drivingmechanism such as before described." A -work retaining yoke I55 issecured to the lower end of the shaft and carries atthe lower ends ofits respective arms retaining plates I 56 which" are adapted to besecured as by capscrews l5-lto the-cylinder headportion C. The brush Mis rotated against the inner end of the cylinder while the cylinder isrotated in opposite direction by the shaft ll. Since the cylinder isthus rotated and brushed while submerged in the cleaning solvent withinthe tank or casing, the solvent may enter the cylinder through the portsI60 conventionally provided in cylinder heads. Lifting of the lid or topwall, in the manner before described, removes the cylinder from thesolvent solution for inspection or removal.

While I have resorted to considerable detail for the purpose of makingmy invention understood, I wish it understood that within its broaderscope, as defined by the appended claims, various modi fications andadaptations may be made without depart ng from the spirit of theinvention.

I claim:

1. Cleaning apparatus comprising,-in combination, a solvent-containingtank having a cover lid, a work-holding member rotatably supported bythe cover lid, a brush rotatably carried in the lower part of the tankfor brushing engagement with work held on the work-holding member, andmeans for rotating the work-holding member and the brush, said cover lidbeing hingedly mounted on the tank for swinging movement relativethereto whereby the work may be withdrawn from the tank by virtue ofswinging the cover lid upwardly therefrom.

2. Cleaning apparatus comprising, in combination, a solvent-containingtank having a cover lid swingably mounted thereon, a work-holding memberrotatably supported by the cover lid, a brush rotatably carried in thelower part of the tank for brushing engagement with work held on thework-holding member, driven means for rotating the work-holding member,driven means for rotating the brush, drive means normally operativelyconnected to said driven means, and a clutch between the drive means andthe driven means for rotating the work-holding member, said clutchmember being disengageable by virture of swinging the cover lid'relativeto the tank.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 which includes hoist means for swinging thecover lid upwardly from the tank and wherein the hoist means isoperatively connected to and actuated by the drive means.

4. Cleaning apparatus comprising, in combina tion, a solvent-containingtank having a cover lid movably mounted for opening and closing thetank, a work holder rotatabl journalled on the lid, a sprocket wheelsecured on the work holder, a radial brush mounted for rotation in thelower part of the tank, a sprocket wheel secured to the brush, a firstdriven sprocket rotatably journalled on the lid, a belt operativelyconnecting the sprocket with the sprocket wheel secured on the workholder, a second driven sprocket, a belt operativelyconnecting the:second 1' driven sprocket withthe sprocket wheel on' the brush', meansfor operating" the belts: and a. clutch interposed abe-v tween thelast-named means and itherfirstxdriven sprocket, said clutch beingdisengageable by :virtue ofmovementof the lid to open position.

.5. Cleaning apparatus-comprising, in combination, a solvent-containingtank having a-cover lid movably mounted .for opening and closing thetank, a brush non-rotatably supported in: the bottomportion oi -thetank, a' work holder rotate ably carried by the lid over said brush:whereby work held bythe holder engages said brush; a radial brushsupported in the bottom portion of the tank for rotation about an axislaterally oil set "from ztheaxis of "rotation of the work holder wherebyto radially engage work held by the work holder, means for moving theradial brush with respect to the axis of rotation of the holder, andmeans for driving the holder and rotary brush.

6. Cleaning apparatus comprising, in combination, a solvent-containingtank having a cover lid movablymounted for opening and closing the tank,a work holder rotatably carried by the lid,

I said holder being adapted to carry work to be cleaned, a radial brushrotatably journalled in the lower part of the tank, said brush beingshaped to conform to the surface of the work to be cleaned and beingradiall engageable thereagainst, and means for simultaneously rotatingthe work holder and brush.

7. Cleaning apparatus comprising, in combination, a solvent-containingtank having a cover lid movably mounted for opening and closing thetank, laterally spaced, alined work holders rotatably carried by thecover lid whereby to be moved into and out of the tank by virtue ofclosing and opening movement of the lid, laterally spaced alined radialbrush elements rotatably journalledin the lower portion of the tankabout axes laterally ofiset from the axes of the work holders whereby tolaterally engage work carried by the work holders, means for laterallymoving the brush element relative to the axes of the work holders androtative means operatively connected to the work holders and brushelements.

8. Cleaning apparatus comprising, in combination, a solvent-containingtank having a cover lid swingably mounted thereon, a plurality of tablessupported in alinement above the floor of the tank, a brush resilientlyand non-rotatably mounted on each of the tables, a pair of parallel,horizontally spaced rods longitudinally slidably mounted in the tables,bearings secured between the rods between the respective tables wherebyto be laterally movable with respect to the tables, radial brushes onejournalled in each of the bearings, work holders disposed in the tankand rotatably carried by the lid in position to overhang the respectivetables, said work holders being removable from the tank by virtue oflifting the lid, and drive means for operating the tatably carried bythe lid in position to overhang the respective tables, said work holdersbeing removable fromthe tank by virtue of lifting the lid,

. drivemeans operatively connected to the radial thecross pin, adiagonal herein the block communicating with the opening and a pinresiliently mounted in the bore and having its inner end engageable inthe groove.

11. Cleaning apparatus comprising, in, combination, a solvent-containingtank having a cover lid swingably mounted thereon, a shaft rotatablycarried by the lid and presenting means for detachably holding acylindric article to be cleaned, a shaft rotatably mounted in the lowerpart of the tank coaxial with the first-mentioned shaft, a brush securedon the latter shaft in position to extend into said cylindric articlecarried by the work holder, and means for simultaneously rotating theshafts in opposite directions.

CARL A. STINE.

